Middle triplet
by ArtemisApollo97
Summary: He was the middle triplet. Sometimes, this was considered a bit of a horrible status, being neither the older triplet with the authority or the younger one with the most leeway. For Callum, being the middle triplet and youngest boy of the family wasn't that much of a problem. He was a pain in the neck and proud of it.
1. Introduction to Callum

**Callum's story- kind of. I'm using bits from Here Comes Trouble 'cos some of it is OK and I can work with those bits; the rest I'm kind of scraping. Apologies if I don't update this weekend- I'll try to- but I'm at a friend's pretty much all weekend, so yay! :P **

**Don't forget to vote! :D**

* * *

He was the middle triplet. Sometimes, this was considered a bit of a horrible status, being neither the older triplet with the authority or the younger one with the most leeway. For Callum, being the middle triplet and youngest boy of the family wasn't that much of a problem. He was a pain in the neck and proud of it.

Sitting with Lilly and Sage later that day, Callum realised how annoying he really was. His two sisters were paying him no attention, working through their homework together as they always did. He was supposed to be doing his too, but it had wanted to be a plane and sit on the wardrobe. Theo had already done his, the _nerd_, and hadn't let Callum copy. The older triplet was a strange combination of Callum _and_ Lilly, annoying and smart.

"I'm bored." Callum announced. "Can I go out?"

"No." The girls replied firmly, not looking up from their physics equations. Callum slouched sulkily in his seat, huffing and folding his arms over his chest. "You have to wait for Theo." Lilly elaborated kindly.

"He's going to be _ages_ though. Why can't I go out on my own?" They looked up then, fixing him with an identical sea green and bland stare. Callum scowled at the pair of them, swivelling in the swivel chair and placing his feet on Sage's desk. "It's not even up to you." He grumbled.

"No, it's not." Sage agreed. "But Mom and Dad said you're not allowed out alone."

"I'll be good." But he didn't sound very convincing, even to himself.

He wasn't trusted to go anywhere by his lonesome. He was a kleptomaniac, a strong case of it. Not like Piper had been, using charmspeak. Callum couldn't resist picking pockets or taking things from shelves in stores. He particularly liked raiding lockers, guessing codes and trying to pry the doors open. Theo was best at detecting Callum was up to no good, so it was no wonder Callum wasn't allowed anywhere without him.

A red book on Sage's desk caught his attention. He had seen this book before, usually heavily guarded by the owner. How many times had he tried to steal this and failed, coming away with severe bruises?

Sage and Lilly were immersed once again in their work. He braved nudging the book closer with his foot, silently speculating what its contents might be.

It took a full minute to retrieve the book undetected. He caught it deftly and flicked to a random page.

His dyslexia played up, so he didn't get to read all of it, but he understood enough to determine it was a letter from Sage to Charlie.

Closing the book, Callum's annoyance ebbed away into a desolated emptiness. Charlie had practically been another older brother to him. Callum would never admit this aloud, but he had idolised Charlie. He loved how that whatever was in Charlie's path- even death- he encountered with a smile, a bunch of silly jokes and his precious chocolate cake.

Callum wished he was a bit more like that. He had a temper; he knew that. Charlie never lost his temper- he didn't have one. He was always so amusing and so mellow. Nothing fazed him.

He placed the letter journal back into its original place and spun in his seat, jumping to his feet.

"You're not allowed out." Sage reminded him.

"I know." He sighed, irritation sparking in his chest. "I'm hungry." He left the pair to their work and went to plead his father for food.

* * *

**Sorry it's short, but I think they will be for a while :/ **


	2. Megan

**To Awesome as Annabeth- yep! A story for Callum! Ta da! Now I have to start Theo's as well, so all the triplets have a story.**

**Sorry for not updating this weekend though, I've been at my friend's. But I did work on a couple of future chapters for Callum's story though. **

**Might be seeing HTTYD 2 this weekend though so WOOHOO, SUCKERS! :D**

* * *

Megan was back. It took Callum a moment to remember who she was, but upon seeing her, he knew. He had gotten along alright with her before she had left. She had warm golden-brown eyes surrounded by long lashes. Her mild brown hair fell in soft curls about her shoulders, her fringe tumbling over her forehead and sometimes into her eyes. She was casually dressed, trying to make herself as covered and as unnoticeable as possible. Callum recalled she was very self-conscious of her weight, even though she was only a few stone over average.

"You haven't changed a bit." Megan laughed as Callum bounced towards her. "Although, you might have shrunk."

"Oh, I'm always doing that." He smacked the back of his hand, mock scolding himself. "Bad Callum, stop shrinking. "You've had a haircut."

"Only a bit. Hi Theo! Hi Lilly!"

"Hi Megan." The other two triplets chorused back. "Where've you been hiding?" Theo joked kindly.

"In the ocean!" A cruel voice from behind them said. "With her whale buddies!" Megan flushed red, her eyes watering as she looked down, wringing her trembling hands.

Theo grabbed Callum by the arm, giving his younger brother a stern, warning look. Callum snatched his arm back and, in retort to Sasha- the most stereotypical cheerleader/Barbie doll- made a donkey noise. Involuntarily, her hand sprang to cover her mouth; her large, protruding front teeth. Megan gave a laugh, covering her mouth to catch it back, the light in her eyes dancing amusedly.

Sasha stomped off, her little girls clique twitching after her.

"You're such a _pain_." Lilly exasperated, but Callum could tell she was hiding a smile. Megan dissolved into a giggle fit, her tears spilling forth with humour.

"Oh, that's made my day." She smiled gratefully at Callum, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"We've got your back, Meggie." Callum grinned. Theo shook his head at his brother, pushing him aside.

"You know she hates being called that."

"I've gotten used to it now." Megan soothed. "My stepdad is always calling me it now."

"Your stepdad?" Callum puzzled. "Did I miss something?"

"No. He's like my real dad, but he's not." She peered around curiously. "I've just noticed- it's too quiet. Where's Charlie?" The smiles faded from their faces and they all looked pained. "What? What's happened?"

"I'm surprised you haven't heard already." Lilly said quietly, glancing dejectedly at her brothers. "Charlie… he… he died… last month…"

"_What_? No!" Her eyes glistened with tears once again. "No! What-? How-?" She looked from one to the next, but they were sharing that look she would never forget- they wouldn't tell her the truth for reasons unbeknownst to her. "Did he… he didn't… suffer, did he?"

"He was Charlie 'til the end." Theo promised, handing her a tissue. She saw that his hand shook, the impact of his cousin's passing renewed.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"You didn't know." Lilly gave a weak smile. "Come on, you've got to tell us what you've been up to." Megan nodded, dabbing at her eyes and guiltily relieved for the change in subject.

Callum only half-paid attention to what Megan was saying as they all walked to the canteen. The other half of him was battling to tell her what had actually happened and then restraining himself from doing so. They hadn't seen Megan in six months. A lot can change in that time and he needed to make sure Megan was still the Megan they had known and trusted.

"Wakey wakey, Callum!" Theo snapped his fingers briskly in Callum's face, startling him back into focus.

"Huh?"

"Have you had your ADHD stuff?" He shook his head, smiling angelically. Lilly frowned while Theo gave a long, tired sigh. "You should!" Lilly reprimanded. "Stop trying to be like Tobias!"

"I'm not! I just agree with him that you shouldn't try to restrain this much awesome."

"You really haven't changed." Megan gave a gentle laugh, brushing her fringe from her eyes. He gave a maniacal laugh, sending her into a bout of bewilderment. "I didn't know you could be more of an idiot."

"That's possible?" Theo marvelled.

"Oh, aren't you funny?" Callum retorted good-naturedly.

"Hilarious." Theo confirmed, smirking and folding his arms in triumph. Callum pulled a face at him, mimicking Theo's new posture in a sulky fashion. Theo just bumped him with his shoulder, laughing.


	3. Werewolves!

**Sorry for not working on this one in ages. I just remembered I had pre-written future chapters. Some- well, most- of the stuff is from the old triplet fic, so I hope you don't mind, it just saves me re-writing the same thing again.**

* * *

"Dad?" Percy raised his head slightly in indication that he was listening. "Am I annoying?"

"Very." His father replied. Callum could hear the smile in his father's voice. Percy was at the oven, retrieving a tray of misshapen blue cookies. Callum was sat at the island, measuring ingredients for a cake. "Why'd you ask that?"

"Am I annoying to the point of you not liking me?" Percy half-turned to frown at him. Callum didn't meet his eyes, pouring flour into the bowl on the scales.

A chair scraped opposite him and Percy dropped into the seat.

"What's going on?" He asked, his tone concerned, but demanding. Callum didn't reply, reaching for the sieve. Percy was faster though, whisking it out of reach. "Callum? Has somebody said something?"

"No."

"Then what's the matter?" Callum hunched his shoulders, still not looking up. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" Callum gave a small nod. "So, tell me what's up then."

"It's nothing. Forget it." Percy smiled sweetly, his eyes glittering. Callum regretted bringing this up now; Percy wouldn't let go until he knew everything.

"Is it girl problems?"

"No."

"Guy problems?"

"_No_." Percy held his hands up in mock innocence. Callum simmered at him.

"Hey, it's no big if you are, it's cool." His son didn't reply, reaching over to pry the sieve from his grasp. Percy let him have it and watched Callum set about pouring the flour through it into the mixing bowl. "Someone at school?" Callum shook his head. "Someone at Camp?" Another no. "Has someone here said or done something?"

"No, Dad. It _really_ is nothing." Percy didn't look at all convinced. "You can even get Alvie to check if you want, Dad, I'm fine."

"Then why did you ask if you were annoying to the point of me not liking you?"

"Just wondering." Callum shrugged noncommittally. "I think something's up with Theo though."

"Is that's what bothering you?"

"No." Percy sighed. Percy wouldn't push him too much, but he'd continuously hint at whatever was on Callum's mind until he solved the problem. "It's just Theo seems rather down in the dumps lately and I don't know why."

"I'll talk to him when he gets home then. Nice try changing the subject though." Percy paused, folding his arms on the island's surface. "Want the first blue cookie?" Callum stared at him. No-one was allowed the first blue cookie from any batch of cookies except Percy. To have him offer this was his way of successful cheering Callum up.

Callum grabbed a cookie and took a big bite before his father could change his mind.

"Ah, _hot_." He said through his mouthful. A slow smile crossed Percy's features. "Git. Ah, burning, burning…"

* * *

"Callum, you _promised_ you wouldn't steal again."

"I couldn't help it…" He mumbled dejectedly, looking down ashamedly. Annabeth sighed and Percy's feet hit the floor from where he had been perched on the kitchen counter.

Callum only looked up when his father's warm hand was on his shoulder. Callum feared that Percy would give some sort of lecture or- even worse- shout at him. He had heard of Percy only raising his voice less than five times since the beginning of his fatherhood, but the bouts of temper kept even Tobias in line. Callum was interested, but he had never known his father to be angry at any of his children, so it sounded like a scary prospect.

"We're going to go shopping." Percy told him. Callum marvelled at him. Percy and shopping didn't mix _at all_. "We'll go to all the cool stores, but you're not allowed to touch _anything_, OK?" Callum hesitated. They had tried something like this before, but it was the temptation of taking something and the urge to do so that always won. "OK?" Percy insisted.

"OK." Callum agreed in a small voice. Percy smiled at him and directed him out.

With his entire family and work, Percy rarely got one-to-one time with his children and Callum was actually excited at the idea of spending an hour or two with his father, even if it was shopping and a challenge for him not to take anything.

Callum told himself repeatedly on the drive to the mall that he would only look and not pick anything up whatsoever, but when they stared walking about the cool stores- the toy shop, the skateboard shop, the sports shop, etc. etc.- his resolve crumbled. If it wasn't for his father, Callum would have strayed seconds after entering the first shop.

"Put that down." Percy warned, trying not to smile. Callum hastily put the remote control toy car down and buried his hands in the pockets of his new jacket. Percy studied him for a few seconds before turning and walking down the aisle. Callum hurried after him, falling in step alongside Percy.

"Dad?"

"Mm?"

"I don't mean to take the stuff." Percy looked at him. Callum hunched his shoulders, looking anywhere but at his father. "It… it just happens."

"What if you had the money to buy it? Would you still get it?"

"I don't know. That depends what it is."

"Why do you do it?"

"I… I kinda feel like I _have_ to, but… but it's more like… like I want to…" Callum looked up, sheepishly catching his father's eye. Percy picked up a Monopoly game set and studied the pictures. Callum knew as well as anyone how much Percy's dyslexia bothered him.

Percy held the game up to Callum, looking for his verdict. Callum just shrugged. Monopoly got on his nerves- he couldn't steal money from that without getting caught and he was terrible at saving his money.

Setting the game back on the shelf, Percy opened his mouth to talk, looking at his son when something caught his eye.

The change was instant. He went from caring and warm father, to protective and soldier father. Callum tried to look round, but Percy was already steering him out of the shop. "Dad?"

"I don't know who or what they are, but they're bad."

"How can you tell? Where are they?"

"Just a bad feeling. Don't look." Percy pulled his pen from his pocket and Callum retrieved his cards.

To the untrained eye, the cards looked like regular playing cards. The kings were Zeus, the queens Hera, the jacks Hermes and the joker Dionysus. Leo had made these cards, Louisa responsible for the designs. With Leo as the creator, these cards were incredibly fine sheets of folded metal with razor sharp, air-streamed edges. Callum had to flick them a certain way for them to go from playing cards to weapons and there was something in them that had them return to a neat deck in his palm after he used them.

They made it out of the mall and were five minutes from the car at a brisk jog when a growl sounded close behind them. Percy ordered him on, uncapping Riptide. He spun a second too late though and was flattened by a snarling, furry white mass.

"Dad!" Callum flicked a king at the beast- a wolf, of sorts, slightly larger than others with scarlet eyes, scarily sharp teeth and claws that could tear him to ribbons in seconds.

The card lodged in the wolf's shoulder, but it didn't seem to register it. Callum drew a knife and hurled the deck of cards across the wolf's back. This obviously clicked and the wolf sprung off of Percy and barrelled towards Callum.

Percy was up in a nano-second and lopped off the wolf's tail. The creature gave a howl of agony and rounded on Percy, blood pouring from the stump. It limped about, studying Percy with eyes that were too intelligent for an animal, before pouncing. Percy bought his sword up at the last second, ramming it through the wolf's ribcage, tearing a lung and puncturing the heart.

"Car! Now!" Percy demanded. Callum held his hand out and the cards shot back, neatly landing in his palm. He turned and ran for the car, his father close behind him. Baying howls in the distant reached them, but it was hard to determine where they came from.

"How many were there?" Callum asked, yanking the car door open and hurrying in.

"I don't know." Percy admitted, slamming his door shut. Riptide was a bloody mess leaning against Percy's leg as he turned the key in the ignition. Callum hastily put his seat belt on and Percy swung out of the parking space.

Running towards them, in groups of six or seven and from all sides, were wolves, all like the first one with varying colours of fur- white or differing tones of grey, brown, black and a rust colour.

Percy floored the accelerator and hurtled towards the group running at them from the front. Most of the wolves scattered, darting around the car as it neared, but a dark brown one scrambled up the bonnet, gouging thick scrapes into the windscreen. Percy slammed on the brakes suddenly and the wolf went flying.

"Dad?" Callum held his cards so tightly; the sharpened edges had blood beading on his palm.

"It's OK." Percy breathed, shifting into reverse and swinging the car around again. "We'll get home and sort this out." He put the car into motion and launched forward, glaring around the deep groves in his windscreen.

The wolves managed to keep up with them as they drove off, even at speeds of fifty, nearly sixty miles an hour. Callum had sunk in his seat and was praying to all the gods that the wolves just went 'poof' and vanished in colourful clouds of smoke.

Unfortunately, traffic got to them and they ended up abandoning the car and running for it. The wolves could have caught up easily, but they slowed down, as if they had a plan or were enjoying the thrill of the chase.

Percy kept Callum slightly ahead of him, making sure Callum was mostly shielded from the wolves' view. Should the wolves suddenly attacked, Percy would take the full force. Callum knew he would- it was in his nature. Family comes first.

They turned into an alley and realised seconds too late that it was a dead end.

"Dad…" Percy drew Riptide again and Callum armed himself with his knife. His father moved in front of Callum as the wolves filed into organised lines at the mouth of the alley.

It was pandemonium, what followed. Line after line of wolves surged forward. Percy slashed, jabbed and fatally injured many of them, keeping Callum behind him and away from danger.

There was no way Percy could fight all of them. If one went down, three more replaced it. It was a never ending tide of fur, claws and vicious snarls, but Percy didn't give in. He fought like a man possessed, but if Callum stepped forward to help; Percy would dart in front of him and push him back.

Callum ended up being Percy's eyes and he spotted a larger wolf- larger than its brethren- sat comfortably on top of a dumpster, studying the battle, its stony blood red eyes hosting a gleam of intelligence that only increased Callum's wariness of it. It _had_ to be the leader. It occasionally gave demanding growls, causing another wave of wolves to attack. It didn't join the fight, content with watching and studying.

It was only when Percy decapitated a wolf- Callum's insides started churning then and he had to close his eyes in an attempt to rid himself of that image- that the larger, mud brown wolf snarled. The other wolves pulled back, limping to their orderly lines. Percy was clearly exhausted and he was covered in multiple claw wounds, but he still held Riptide at the ready as the wolf neatly leapt down from its perch and padded forward, claws extended and a snarl curling its lips and sending tremors of fear-inducing authority across its terrifyingly muscular body.

The leader wolf's claws clicked against the concrete and Callum tensed. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Their new opponent looked ready to launch itself at Percy, but it didn't, throwing itself sideways and leaping off the wall, expertly diverting around Percy and straight at Callum. He raised his knife and Percy swung at it, but this wolf moved with impossible speed and ferocity. Callum dropped to the ground and the wolf sailed cleanly over his head, skidding across the floor and turning to face him at the same time, those claws leaving gouges in the solid ground.

Percy stepped forward when the other wolves let out a hunting howl and swarmed towards him.

Callum could fight one wolf, right? Percy had been fighting endlessly against them for what felt like hours (but probably half an hour or less).

He raised his knife, realising how pathetic it seemed compared to Riptide and his foe's built in weapons as the wolf pounced again. He was lucky to dodge it a few times, but as Percy was tiring and receiving more injuries, the leader of the pack summoned a few buddies with a series of snarls.

One coal black wolf slammed into Callum, a hundred and fifty pounds of furry, muscular mass throwing him to the floor. Percy protested and Callum heard a scuff of trainer, envisioning his father attempting to run to his aid.

Percy was waylaid by more wolves and couldn't reach his son. The wolf that had knocked Callum flat had twisted away, leaving Callum dazed and half-conscious with a head wound trickling blood on the floor. He tried for a hurricane or a storm- anything- but his head pounded and there were so many adversaries, he could barely focus.

There was a sharp yap behind him, Percy, claws clinking against the ground and then Callum's pained yell. The other wolves scampered back and Percy whirled round, horrified to see the bigger wolf standing over his son with its teeth buried deep in Callum's shoulder.

Percy's anger rolled in like thunder and he ran his sword straight through the wolf's side, puncturing lungs and heart in one swift movement. His sword shuddered as he pulled it from the wolf, rattling against broken ribs, but he cared not, kicking the corpse aside and dropping his sword.

Callum was already pale and seemed to be having some sort of fit. He gave odd, short, sharp breaths and his eyes rolled back in his head.

Cursing himself, Percy hurriedly scooped his son up, whistling sharply.

Blackjack dropped from the sky less than a minute later.

_Sup, boss? Got me any sugar- whoa, what happened here?_

"I'll explain later. I need to get Callum home."

_Righto, boss_.

* * *

"What the hell happened?!" Annabeth shouted the second she saw her husband. He was covered in multiple wounds, some still bleeding and he was dead on his feet. Her main concern was their son in his arms, unconscious with worrying breathing and in some fitting state. "Sofa. Now." She ordered, flourishing her hand demandingly. Percy hurried to obey- _she was so going to kill him_.

Percy was fed ambrosia and Sage got a bowl of water and a clean cloth, carefully rinsing water onto his wounds. He healed instantly, but he wished he could say the same was happening with Callum.

Theo and Lilly were holding their brother still while Annabeth examined the injury, frowning and muttering to herself.

"Percy, what happened?"

"They just came out of nowhere..."

"What did?"

"These… these wolves, but… there were so many and they didn't… they weren't like normal wolves, they were… stronger. Faster and smarter and-" Callum suddenly twisted, giving a heart-wrenching cry of pain. Sage, at her father's nod, jumped up and helped her younger siblings restrain Callum. Annabeth snatched up the damp cloth and pressed it to the bite wound.

This had no effect.

"Percy, you do it!" She ordered, anger coursing through her and emitting from her in dangerous waves. Percy scrambled to his feet, taking the damp cloth and willing the water to heal.

It took a while longer than Percy wanted, but Callum slowly stopped fighting and less in pain. When he pulled the cloth away to check on the wound, it had mostly healed- a faint scar.

Annabeth's eyes were burning furiously. "Percy, these wolves…"

"Yeah?"

"Where did you first see them?"

"Uh… the, um, the toy shop. But they weren't… they weren't wolves to start off with. It was… there was this group of people… and… they just seemed bad. Really bad." Annabeth cursed very profusely in Ancient Greek. Percy studied her, trying to glean something from her, but his two daughters beat him to it, their own curses filling their air. He glanced at Theo, who wasn't paying attention, chewing his lip and watching his brother's pale face worriedly.

"Oh gods…" Percy looked at his wife and she sighed, concern mingling with her anger. That look was still in her eyes- she was trying to plan something, a solution maybe. But for what?

She answered his unspoken question a second later- "Werewolves."

* * *

**Ta da! **

**Well, not really 'Ta da!' 'cos most of it is copy and pasted from the old one, but hey. I updated! Woo! :D **

**And for those that may not have noticed, I've got a How To Train Your Dragon fic up. It's not much at the minute, but if you haven't read it, would you mind reading and letting me know what you think?**

**Which reminds me- someone wanted me to read a fic of theirs too. Which of you crazy bunch was it? :P **


	4. Theo

**I'm sorry if this chapter is poo, but it's all I've got at the moment- I pre-written one and I might have something to go with possibly :P Mostly werewolf and sibling stuff…**

* * *

Callum was lying on his bed. Yeah, OK, the day off from school was nice, but instead of changing at night under the full moon, like he thought all werewolves did, he could change at any point during the day. The potion was sat, ready, on the bedside table, alongside stacks of now stone cold bacon. The second he felt a stabbing pain in his stomach, he was to grab that potion and drink it in one go, even though it tasted like seafood.

Seafood was horrible. Percy and Louisa had recounted the one time they had gone to a seafood restaurant and, quoted from Annabeth, they had looked like they had 'seen a ghost'. They had their hands over their ears and their heads on the table. Fish tanks had exploded and many sea creatures had mysteriously escaped that night, but the twins had been driven near-insane with the pleas for them to free the sea animals.

Sighing, Callum sat up and looked around his room. There had to be something to do, right?

There was that stack of comics for him to read, but he couldn't be bothered to get up and walk ten paces across his room to rummage through the pile and find one with the prettiest colours.

He gave another sigh and forced himself up, dragging himself over to the comics. Theo was borrowing them and they sat in a neat pile in alphabetical order on his bedside table. Callum rifled through them, messing them up on purpose. Theo _hated_ that.

A knock on the door pulled him from his search and he peered over his shoulder as Annabeth walked in with a tray of fresh bacon sandwiches and blue cookies.

"Hiya, sweetie. How are you feeling?"

"Bored."

"Yeah, I know, but it's safer in here."

"You scared of me, Mom?" Her expression hardened and she glared at him defiantly.

"Scared? Of you? Ha!" She smacked the tray on the bedside table, making the plates rattle. Callum smirked. "If I was scared of you, I'd quite happily hang my knife up and retire from the demigod life."

"Really?"

"Mm-hm."

"So… are you scared of me?" She raised her eyebrows slightly, hands on her hips. "No. But you will be." He growled menacingly, but that was cut short by that familiar stabbing pain in his stomach. "Mom…" Annabeth hurried the potion to his hands, kissed his forehead.

"It'll be OK." She assured and then left. It was better if he went through the change on his own- less disturbing.

His hands shook as he drank from the goblet. He wrinkled his nose and choked slightly at the seafood smell and taste.

That was the last thing he remembered.

* * *

OK, OK, the changes every month hurt- like, A LOT. Imagine being turned inside out, bones crunching and reshaping and resizing, blood boiling and organs freezing and then frying in deep heat. Then times that by ten and add the amount of pain gathered from trying to fight it. He knew he shouldn't fight it, but it was a natural instinct, according to Athena.

The only positive spin he could put on it was that he got a day off school every month, every full moon. And Athena did give him a potion that helped reduce the pain, so it was tolerable, and it kept him under control, locked in his room and under his bed instead of prowling the streets for _meals_. His parents left piles of bacon in his room before the change. He loved bacon. It was his weakness.

A knock on the door roused him from his sleepy thoughts. He hummed tiresomely in response, not lifting his head from his pillow.

"How're you feeling, bud?" Percy asked warmly, peering around the door. Callum stared at him blearily, closing his eyes after a few heartbeats. "More bacon?" He offered, noticing that whatever he and Annabeth had stock-piled in that room the night before food-wise was long gone, crumbs included.

"Please…" Callum murmured, twisting in his covers to smile wearily at his dad. "Not so crispy though. You literally _cremate_ it."

"Hey, you wanted a big pile of bacon; we were speed frying." Percy shrugged, smirking. "Be right back." He promised, disappearing and closing the door behind him.

Callum forced himself to his feet and stumbled about for clothes. Theo arrived minutes later with a steaming pile of bacon and a cheeky grin.

"Sup, bro?" He placed the plate on Callum's bed, where his brother pounced and started wolfing down strips of crispy bacon, if you excuse the pun.

"Still over-done it." He announced through a mouthful.

"You're still eating it, so shush." Theo sat quietly after that, watching his brother eat. To Callum, he looked like he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure how to word it.

The bacon was gone fairly quickly. Callum found that he was still hungry, but he was more interested on whatever was on Theo's mind.

"You OK?" Theo just nodded, looking away. "Theodore…" Callum warned cheekily. Theo winced at his full name. "What da matter?" Callum shifted closer and rested his head on his brother's shoulder- this way he couldn't be ignored.

"Nothing." Theo may not have been able to ignore him, but he certainly could push him to the floor.

"Ow." Callum sighed. "Was that really necessary?"

"Made me feel better."

"Oh! Oh, that's _so_ worth the shoulder pain!" Callum wrinkled his nose at his brother in mock annoyance. "Seriously though, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine."

"Liar."

"Callum, I'm _fine_."

"No you're not. Don't lie to me, I get upset." Theo rolled his eyes, but said nothing. Callum hopped back up and tackled his brother, pinning him to the bed. He wilfully remained oblivious to Theo's protests, grabbing him by the wrists so he couldn't push him off again. "Tell me what's wrong or I'll eat you."

"You won't eat me."

"I can try. You probably won't taste that nice." Theo did not look at all impressed by that, but still he remained quiet. "So, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing!" Theo insisted, meeting Callum's gaze almost defiantly rather than to establish the truth.

"What in the name of Hades' underwear are you doing?" Both boys looked round and saw Sage in the doorway, staring at them bewilderedly. It wasn't every day she walked in to find Callum sitting on Theo and holding his hands down, leaning down to be eye-to-eye.

"Something's wrong with Theo, but he won't say what."

"So, you sit on him?" Callum nodded, smiling. "That makes perfect sense," She mumbled sarcastically, "Carry on." She left them, grumbling about idiots, as per usual.

Sage hadn't left Callum to deal with Theo alone though- she had sent Lilly up as reinforcement.

"What's wrong, Teddy?" Only Lilly called Theo 'Teddy'. From her it was OK; she was his baby sister and had called him that since childhood. Anyone else and he hated it.

"I'm fine, honest."

"I'll go get Alvie."

"He's here?"

"He always stays on the full moon, remember?"

"Oh yeah…" Theo didn't look too happy about this.

"Do I have to get him or are you going to talk?"

"Neither. I'm _fine_. But I can't feel my legs," He frowned up at his brother, "Get off."

"Nope." Callum grinned innocently. "You can't get rid of me that easily." Lilly smacked Callum's arm with the back of her hand. She secured a steely warning look and Callum, rather reluctantly, rolled away, lying shoulder-to-shoulder with Theo instead. "Killjoy." He muttered, crossing his arms in a sulky fashion. Lilly ignored him; sitting on the end of the bed on Theo's other side.

They sat and waited. Theo knew they wouldn't leave him alone, so he decided to spin them any old flannel.

"I really am fine, I'm just tired." Lilly stared at him and he got the feeling she could see right through him. "Honest." He held his sister's gaze, trying not to look as stubborn as he had done earlier.

"You can talk to us." Lilly told him.

"I'll try and listen." Callum added, gaining a smile from Theo. He _did_ look tired, shadows under his eyes and a waver behind the smile. Something was definitely up though, he knew that much.

Prodding Theo in the waist and making him squirm, Callum grinned sinisterly. "But it better be soon that you tell us, 'cos I get bored easily."

"And we all know that." Lilly rolled her eyes and got up. "I'll get Alvie if I have to." She warned, pausing in the doorway without looking back. "But I'd much rather you talked to us." And then she was gone.

"Does Lilly seem a bit off to you?"

"You're changing the subject."

"Ugh, _fine_." Theo narrowed his eyes at Callum, inspecting. "You look like you could do with more bacon."

"You're still changing the subject."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Liar."

"I don't lie, Callum." Callum didn't respond to this, studying the swirling and bobbly patterns on the ceiling.

An image flared across his mind's eye, a brief glimpse he often got a wolf-like feature- a clawed paw or raven fur. Maybe the glimpse of silvery-stormy grey eyes or a similar grey streak in the mirror as he prowled the room tiresomely.

It wasn't much to go by. Sometimes he wished he remembered what happened when he had Changed, but other times, he thought it might not be such a good idea. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right?

Theo sighed and Callum realised that he was asleep and that he himself had been staring at the ceiling for a good half hour.

He got up noiselessly, gathering empty bacon plates and swiping crumbs to the floor. He pulled back the duvet and covered Theo with it as best he could, leaving the older boy to sleep.


	5. Stars and visitors

"Callum, wake up!"

"Grrr…"

"Don't growl at me, you weirdo!" Lilly protested, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him awake. Callum playfully tried to bite at her fingers. She pulled back and glowered at him.

It was his thing now. Growling at people to annoy them further.

It suited his other half, as Annabeth called it.

Never _werewolf_. Just his _other half_. Obviously, no-one outside of the family knew, but Callum didn't really help the 'top secret, hush hush, shush shush, air-tight-safe, keep-quiet-about-it-or-we'll-kill-you' situation. He tried to bite people; he growled at people, pretended he had claws and would often run around pretending to be a wild animal on the loose.

Everyone just thought he had simply and finally lost the plot completely. He agreed.

Lilly's irate sigh drew his attention and he peered up at her curiously. She was still in her pyjamas, her hair in a tangled, lopsided ponytail. "Where's Theo?" She asked. Callum sat up on his elbows and frowned at his brother's empty bed. "I've checked the house and the garden, but can't find him."

Callum kicked the covers away, stumbling to his feet. Theo had the habit of hiding away randomly, but always in the early hours of the morning. How he, Callum, hated that.

"Theo…" He called softly as he and Lilly searched the house again. Theo never strayed far, so he could have found a really good hiding place- again. "Here, Theo, Theo, that's a good boy."

"He's not a dog!"

"Hey, I'm helping, shush." Callum pushed on, finding the back door was unlocked. Maybe Lilly had done that in her search, having forgotten to lock it afterwards.

He stepped outside, the cool night air pleasant on his bare arms and face. He breathed it in before setting off around the garden, climbing the large willow tree towards the end, knowing Lilly wouldn't have done this. She was rambling around the rest of the garden, calling for their AWOL brother.

Callum climbed as high as he could, metres below the roof of the house.

"What are you doing?" A voice called down.

"What are _you_ doing?" He countered. Theo was sat on the roof, in his pyjamas. "Found him, Lilly! What _are_ you doing out here anyway?"

"I'm sitting on the roof."

"I got that bit." Callum rolled his eyes at his brother, not something he often did. Usually, it was the other way around. "Just come down, come on."

"No, I'm good." Theo looked back up at the night sky. "I want to see the stars, Callum."

"They're there." Callum absent-mindedly waved his hand towards the sky, trying to find a secure grip with the other.

"No."

"Oh, don't go into light pollution again." Theo stayed quiet. Callum examined the gap between the tree and the house, edging along the branch as best he could. Theo was watching him curiously, the skylight window creaking open behind him alerting him to his sister's arrival.

Callum jumped, using his new werewolf strength to clear the distance and land neatly next to his siblings.

"Show off." Lilly muttered, flicking dust from her trousers. "Why are you up here, Theo?"

"I was watching the stars."

"Are they doing anything exciting then?" Callum asked, staring up at the stars himself.

"No." Theo got up and climbed back through the skylight. His two siblings exchanged worried glances and quickly followed, Callum climbing down first to help Lilly down afterwards.

Theo was already gone by the time they reached the upper floor landing. Asleep by the time Callum got back to their bedroom.

"Theo!" Callum hissed. His brother didn't even stir. Resignedly, Callum collapsed back onto his own bed. Maybe he would have to get Alvie to do some prying, just to see what was bothering Theo.

* * *

Later, when it was the reasonable hours of the morning, Callum managed to catch thirty seconds with his parents to quickly explain Theo's new and somewhat evasive behaviour.

"He's just got a lot on his plate at the moment, Callum." Annabeth assured.

"No," Callum shook his head, "this is more than that."

"What'd you mean?" Percy frowned.

"Just watch him. Doesn't he seem a bit… distant, to you?" They both looked back at Theo, who was poking his fried egg monotonously with his fork, resting his chin on his free hand. His eyes indeed held a faraway look and he failed to notice Tobias calling his name and arming himself with a forkful of beans.

"Tobias, don't even _think_ about it!" Annabeth warned. Tobias sheepishly put his fork down, hunching his shoulders a fraction to appear 'innocent until proven guilty'.

"We found Theo on the roof last night." Callum pronounced. "He kept going on about wanting to see the stars." Percy bit his lip and glanced at Annabeth, whose expression softened in pity. "What?" Callum looked from one to the other, but neither seemed ready to tell him anything.

The doorbell rang, breaking into their haphazard and uninformative conversation.

"I'll get it!" Tobias bounced up from his seat and across the room. No-one stopped him- it was too early to deal with Tobias just yet.

A man stood at the door, dressed in black from head to foot and wearing a trench coat, of sorts, with a fedora pulled low over his eyes. He was tall and thin, from what the Jacksons could work out, and something about him seemed… off.

Maybe it was just the trench coat.

"Is Callum Jackson here?"

"Who are you?" Tobias asked, cocking his head to the side and examining the newcomer.

"Is Callum Jackson here?" The man repeated, his tone firmer. He spoke slower, as if talking to an idiot. (Well, he was, but it was really unnecessary).

"No." Percy replied, pushing past Tobias. "He's not, go away." He closed the door in the man's face and replaced the chain.

"Dad?" Tobias quizzed, but Percy had drawn Riptide, twisting the pen irritably in his fingers. Tobias fumbled for Ice, not even bothering to ask further questions.

"What's going on?" Sage asked, bumbling down the stairs and rubbing sleep from her eyes. Alvie quietened her with a wave of his hand, fixing a predatory glare on the door.

"You need silver." He told his parents. They both cursed in Ancient Greek and Percy sent Tobias upstairs to get aforementioned weapons from the attic.

"Mom? What's he mean, you need silver?" Callum tugged on his mother's sleeve, her stormy grey eyes finding his, relaying a silent demand- _think about it_.

Oh.

Silver burned him.

If they need silver then the guy outside must be… like him.

A werewolf.


End file.
